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National Museum of Nuclear Science & History

Hiroshima Log of the Enola Gay

On August 6, 1945, seven B-29s are given their final briefing on the Hiroshima Mission. The strike plane carrying the Little Boy Atomic Bomb is Enola Gay, which is piloted by Col. Paul Tibbets and Capt. Robert A. Lewis. There are ten other men on board, including Capt. Theodore “Dutch” Van Kirk, who was the navigator. His job was to record the flight path of Enola Gay in this log, which was provided to the Atomic Heritage Foundation by Clay Perkins. This document begins on 2:55am when Enola Gay takes off and ends on 2:58pm when they landed back at the base in Tinian Island. All time is recorded in Tinian time; the time in Hiroshima is one hour earlier. Below are selections from Van Kirk’s log.

Document Type:
The Enola Gay on August 5, 1945

Point: APO 247, Tinian

Time Takeoff: 245

Time Landed: 1458

 

Position – Time (Military) – Remarks [AHF Notes are in italics]

N. Tip Siapan – 0255 [Northern tip of Saipan, 10 min after takeoff]

18°43’N 144°21’E – 400 – ETA 0552

IWO – 0555 – Circleing Left For Rend [Iwo Jima, planes are sic:circling for rendezvous]

IWO – 0602 

ONC – 0650 – ETA 0742

 

IP – 0912 – Large 8[?] ships in Harbor [IP: Initial point to start the bomb run]

Bomb Away – 0915 – At Mishima, Circle E. Of Target [Mishima, sic: Hiroshima]

Mishima – 0931

29° 43′ E 137° 03’E – 1041 – 10:52 Cloud Gone [368 miles from Hiroshima, mushroom cloud no longer visible]

10’R IWO – 1219

Base – 1458 [Arrive at Tinian Island] 

 

 

 

Hiroshima Log Part 1

Hiroshima Log Part 2

Hiroshima Log Part 3